Misery Business
by Blood Always Tells
Summary: The Storm Hawks travel to Terra Aqua to meet Piper's best friend, Thirrin. But tragedy strikes Thirrin's family and a new crystal presents itself to Thirrin, one more powerful than the Aurora Stone. Now she must use this crystal to take out Cyclonia.
1. Thirrin

Chapter I

The condor flew smoothly through the sky over Atmos, thanks to Storks' piloting. Piper was still in her room, but the others were up on deck, playing poker, and Finn was losing. His face was screwed up in concentration, an angry look on his face. Junko and Aerrow were trying hard not to laugh at Finn's expression. The bet was the loser had to do the dishes on the condor for two months, and it was pretty clear that Finn would lose, bad.

Suddenly, Piper appeared on the front deck, reading a piece of paper and giggling. Finn rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered under his breath, and Junko nodded in agreement.

"Whatcha reading, Piper?" asked Aerrow. Piper didn't answer. "Piper?" said Aerrow.

"Huh?" replied Piper, looking up from her piece of paper. "Oh! Sorry, Aerrow. It's a letter from my best friend, Thirrin. We haven't talked in two years."

"Thirrin?" asked Finn, snorting. "What kind of a name is that?" Piper gave him an evil look.

"It means 'fire heart', Finn, and trust me, it fits her really well," growled Piper.

"What does she look like?" asked Junko.

"Well, she has - actually you guys might be able to see for yourself," said Piper, smiling. "She asked in the letter if I could visit. She lives on Terra Aqua, and we're in that vicinity. So, I was hoping, if it was okay with you Aerrow, if we could see her," she said, smiling sheepishly at Aerrow.

"What about Cyclonia? If they're on that terra -" began Aerrow, but Piper cut him off.

"Their terra has never been touched by Cyclonia. Nobody knows why, but they intend to keep it that way, so says Thirrin."

"Oh, well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," replied Aerrow.

"Yes!" cried Piper, punching the air with her fist. "I send a reply to her."

Piper whistled a weird tune, and Finn raised his eyebrow, looking at Piper like she was crazy. Suddenly, a thing swooped in and landed on Piper's shoulder, screeching. Radarr hissed at it, Junko jumped violently, and Finn and Aerrow covered their ears.

"What is that thing?" asked Finn, taking his hands off his ears and staring at Piper.

"It's a falcon, Finn. Her name is Frear, and she's Thirrin's. Most falcons are wild, but Frear is Thirrin's pet and helps her deliver her mail," replied Piper, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever," muttered Finn.

Then Piper gasped and ran to the window, pressing her face to it.

"We're here!" she cried, and the others ran to the window to see too.

"Wow," whispered Aerrow.

The terra was huge, and was obviously full of life. The northern quarter was half ice, half forest. The western quarter had a volcano that was billowing lots of steam. The eastern quarter looked like most of it was desert, except for a giant lake in the middle and a walled city. The southern quarter looked barren, except for four tall buildings at each of its poles. It was amazing to look at.

"Dude," said Finn. "That's where she lives?"

"The northern quarter, actually. She lives near the frozen part. I think I'll just send Frear back without a reply. I want to surprise her," said Piper, and she ran out of the room, towards the docking bay.

"Ugh," muttered Finn, and he, Junko, and Aerrow ran after her.

They took off ten minutes later, heading straight for the forests in the northern quarter.

"So, what is Thirrin like, Piper?" asked Aerrow.

"She's amazing!" replied Piper excitedly. "She's really smart, she knows about crystals, and she one of the bravest people I'll ever meet. Besides you," added Piper, and Aerrow grinned. "She's also really flexible. She could bend her body in ways you can't even imagine. She's pretty too. She's a great fighter, and she can have a smart mouth. That's one of her flaws. Hey Finn, I also heard that she can play wicked electric guitar now," she called, and Finn raised his eyebrows, smiling.

"Sweet!" he cried.

"But I have to tell you one thing. Thirrin's mother was killed when she was just a little kid," said Piper sadly.

"Wow, harsh," said Finn, and Aerrow nodded.

As they came in for a landing, a shower of green arrows came hurtling towards them.

"HEADS UP!" yelled Aerrow, and they all dodged, the arrows missing them by inches.

"MORE COMING!" screamed Finn, and an arrow hit the front of Finns' Air Skimmer III, knocking off the front and sending Finn hurtling towards the tress below. Luckily, Finn pulled his parachute just in time. Another shower of arrows came towards them, and they hit Piper this time, knocking the propellers off of her Heliscooter, sending her towards the ground as well. Instead of sitting and waiting to get hit, Aerrow sped up into a dive, heading straight for the source of the arrows, his blades drawn. Radarr retracted the wings, and Aerrow's Air Skimmer III Ultra transformed into his cycle, and Aerrow sped off through the trees.

Suddenly, a yellow net shot out in front of Aerrow's cycle. Aerrow slashed at it with his blades, but they didn't cut through. The net hit Aerrow with such force that it knocked Aerrow off his bike. He hit the ground hard, the net sitting on top of him, holding him to the ground. As Aerrow looked up, coughing, he saw people emerging from the trees, all of them holding crossbows. They were cloaked and wearing black masks that went up to their eyes. Then one of them stepped forward, the person's crossbow pointed straight at him. Aerrow could tell it was a girl and a young girl too. Even thought he couldn't see her face, he could see that she had the clearest gray eyes he had ever seen.

"What are you doing on our terra, Cyclonian scum?!" asked the girl in a very demanding voice.

"Where's the rest of my squadron?" asked Aerrow, and Aerrow saw her mouth move behind the mask into what looked like a smile.

"I'm the one asking the questions, Talon," she replied smoothly.

"I'm not a Talon!" exclaimed Aerrow, and the girl raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"Sure, like I haven't heard that one before," said the girl, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious! I'm Aerrow of the Storm Hawks!" cried Aerrow, and one of the others dropped his crossbow.

"A-Aerrow?" he spluttered. "Dude! You're, like, the first guy ever to beat the Dark Ace! Linea let him go." The girl turned her head back to look at him and gave him an angry glare.

"Why should I?" she hissed, and the guy scrunched back in fear. "He could be lying for all we know!"

"Do you know Thirrin?" asked Aerrow in desperation. The girl looked back at Aerrow, her eyes wide.

"How do you know Thirrin?" she whispered.

"I don't, but my friend Piper knows her," replied Aerrow, and Linea lowered her crossbow.

"You're friends with Piper?" she asked, and Aerrow nodded. "Why didn't you say so?!"

The girl raised her hand, and the net flew off Aerrow and back into a canister on the girls' belt. She held out her hand, and Aerrow took it. The girl pulled him up surprisingly fast, as if she put no effort into it at all.

"Thanks," said Aerrow, and the girl pulled off her mask. She was very pretty, and she looked about sixteen.

"My name's Linea," said the girl, and she shook Aerrow's hand. "Don't worry, you're squadron is back at our HQ. Thirrin's my little sister."

"Really?" asked Aerrow. "Cool. Wait! Where's Radarr?"

"He's fine," replied Linea, and she snapped her fingers. Two bulky looking men appeared carrying a metal cage, and inside was Radarr, hissing angrily. They unlocked the cage, and Radarr ran out and jumped on Aerrow's shoulder, growling.

"It's okay, Radarr," muttered Aerrow.

"C'mon, I'll take you to your squadron," said Linea, and she walked back through the trees, Aerrow and the others following behind her.

* * *

The Dark Ace's footsteps echoed throughout the large room as he walked towards his leader, Master Cyclonis. Apparently she had a new task for him, for she said it was urgent.

"Master Cyclonis," he said, bowing his head in respect and crossing his arm across his chest.

"I have a job for you, Dark Ace," replied Cyclonis smoothly, her soft voice menacing and frightening. "Apparently, the people of Terra Pyro, our allies, are having trouble with their neighbor, Terra Aqua. There are some trouble makers, mostly newly knighted Sky Knights that are wiping out both Talons and Terra Pyro's brigades. Since I need their help to take over those four terras, I will be sending you in."

"What do you wish me to do, Master?" he asked.

"Wipe them out," she whispered, and the Dark Ace smirked.

"Consider it done," replied the Dark Ace, and he bowed again before turning on his heel and walking back out the door.

* * *

Aerrow and Linea reached the town sometime later. The town was huge, with a huge watch tower stood in the middle, surrounded by a huge open market. It was quite nice. But Aerrow paid no attention. His concern was only for his squadron.

"Where are they?" asked Aerrow.

"They're over there," replied Linea, and she pointed over to the front of the watch tower. Finn looked over and waved.

"Hey guys, look!" cried Finn, and Junko and Piper looked up. "It's Aerrow!"

Aerrow smiled, and he ran over to his squadron.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked.

"We're fine," replied Piper. "I see you've met Linea," added Piper, nodding over Aerrow's shoulder. Linea waved, and then returned to talking to a guard. "Thirrin's in the fields, c'mon," and they followed Piper out of town.

They reached a large field five minutes.

"C'mon Piper, hurry up!" whined Finn. "I wanna go home!"

"You mean the condor," corrected Piper, "and no. I told you guys we would meet Thirrin. Now come on!"

Then they spotted a group of kids a little bit away. There were seven of them, and five of them looked under thirteen years old. The other two were a boy and a girl. The boy had black curly hair and clear gray eyes like Linea, and he looked sixteen as well. The girl was different. She was tall and pretty, with long brown hair the fell to her back in a long braid, tan skin, and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a green and purple bodysuit with matching gloves connect to her sleeves by black netting. Her boots were black and faded leather, like they were worn out from so much use. The girl was doing outstanding gymnastics in front of the kids to loud applause.

"Hey Thirrin!" cried Piper, and the girl looked up.

"Piper!" replied Thirrin, and she cart wheeled over to Piper and threw her arms around her. "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too!" said Piper. "Wow, you've gotten really tall! Last time I saw you, you were a head shorter than me!" Thirrin just smiled, and looked over Piper's shoulder.

"Who are your friends?" she asked.

"My names Aerrow," began Aerrow. "I'm the leader of the Storm Hawks, and this is my co-pilot Radarr."

"I'm Junko!"

"Finn, Atmos' best sharpshooter," said Finn, smiling and raising his eyebrows repeatedly.

"Okaaaay," said Thirrin, backing away slightly.

"Don't worry about Finn," said Piper, elbowing Finn in the ribs. "He does that to all girls." They both giggled.

"You're a Sky Knight, aren't you?" asked Aerrow and Thirrin blushed at Piper's stare.

"Guilty," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and smiling sheepishly.

"Rock on!" cried Piper, and she gave Thirrin a high five. "I knew you would be knighted someday!"

"C'mon, I'll take you to my place," said Thirrin, and she whistled. The boy with the black hair looked up. "Damien! I'm going to go back to the house, ok?"

"Sure, whatever," replied Damien. Thirrin rolled her eyes.

"C'mon," she muttered, and they walked back towards the town.

"Who was that?" asked Aerrow.

"That's my older brother, Damien. He's Linea's twin," replied Thirrin. "He can be a real jerk sometimes. C'mon, I want you to meet my dad."

They walked through the town, Thirrin giving them a tour. It wasn't very big, but it was unlike any town they've been in. Half of it was carved out of ice, and the other half was carved out of rock. It was amazing.

Then they reached the side of a small mountain covered in trees. A staircase was carved into the mountainside.

"Where's your house?" asked Finn. Thirrin just smiled, and started up the staircase.

"I will never understand girls," muttered Finn, and Aerrow put his hand on Finn's shoulder.

"I know, Finn," said Aerrow, and they followed Thirrin up the winding staircase.

When they reached the top, in front of them was a huge house covered in ivy. It was three stories tall, with a balcony on the highest level and a wall around the yard with a wrought iron gate.

"Wow…," whispered Finn.

"You like it?" asked Thirrin, a grin on her face.

"It's great," said Piper.

"I know. That's my room up there, the one with the balcony," she said, pointing at the third story. "It's got a great view of the terra. C'mon, I'll show you."

Thirrin took out a ring of keys and unlocked the gate, and they walked inside the house. It was even more beautiful on the inside. It was painted an off-white color, and it was a big open space, like the walls were cut away to make more room. The staircase was huge and polished until it gleamed. It would have looked homey if it wasn't for all of the gadgetry crowding the large room. There were crystal scopes, crystal missiles, several crossbows and standard bows, and a huge collection of crystals. On the wall nearby was a coat of arms. It had two swords crossing each other, the top part of a crystal-powered staff going upwards from the middle, and a crossbow going down from the middle.

"Whose shield's that?" asked Finn.

"My family's," replied Thirrin. "The two swords belong to me, the crossbow belongs to Linea, and the staff belongs to Damien. My dad created that shield when we all started training to become Sky Knights. My dad wasn't so thrilled when I was knighted though," she added with a sad smile.

"Why? I would think your dad would be proud," said Aerrow.

"He was worried about me. He didn't like the fact that I'm fourteen and fighting Cyclonians," replied Thirrin. "Hang on, I'll go get my dad," she added, and she ran off up the staircase.

"She's pretty," blurted out Finn.

"Finn!" cried Piper, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"What? She is!" defended Finn.

"Look Finn, I know she is, but could you not say it out loud? She blushes bright red whenever you say something about her looks," said Piper. "It's a habit of hers."

"Oh! My bad," said Finn, and Piper rolled her eyes while Junko and Aerrow sniggered behind them.

"Hey guys!"

Thirrin had returned with a tall, well built man behind her. He had dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes the same color as Thirrin's, but his hair was spiked in the front and he had a mustache. He would have looked menacing if it wasn't for his kind face and gentle smile.

"Storm Hawks, meet my dad, Linden," introduced Thirrin, and the Storm Hawks all waved and said hi. "Dad, these are the Storm Hawks. Aerrow, Finn Junko, and you know Piper already," said Thirrin, pointing out each one of them.

"T-the Storm Hawks?" whispered Linden, and Thirrin's smile faltered.

"Dad? Are you okay?" asked Thirrin quietly.

"How interesting," said Linden shakily, and Thirrin raised an eyebrow.

"Dad, do you need to sit down?" asked Thirrin. "You're kind of freaking us out."

"I need to tell you guys something, including you Thirrin," said Linden, "something that I haven't told anyone for seven years."

"Linden…," muttered Aerrow, lost in his own thoughts. "Linden, Linden, Linden…wait a minute!" he cried, and everyone stared at him. "I know who you are!"

"You do?" asked Thirrin.

"Yeah. I've read about your dad somewhere," replied Aerrow, and he walked up to Linden and looked him square in the face. "You were a Sky Knight, and a well known one too."

"Really?" whispered Linden, glaring at Aerrow.

"Aerrow," began Finn uncertainly, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Thirrin," said Aerrow, "Your dad was a Storm Hawk. Weren't you?" he added, narrowing his eyes at Linden. Linden grimaced, then nodded.

"Yes, I was."


	2. Vengence

Chapter 2

"A Storm Hawk?" whispered Finn, and Junko and Stork's mouths dropped open. Piper said nothing, but the look in her eyes registered everything; surprise, understanding, and…fear? Thirrin groaned and rolled her eyes.

"That's right," said Aerrow, staring at Linden, his eyes narrowed. "You knew my dad. I heard him mention you once."

"What does it matter anyway?" exclaimed Linden suddenly, making everyone jump. "The original Storm Hawks are done, finished! No longer a real squadron, but a legend long gone! And to think that you kids could take on our name, thinking you could live up to us?!" he added maliciously, and everyone jumped again. "You have no idea what it meant to be a Storm Hawk, especially for me! What I lost because of being a Storm Hawk! You have no IDEA!" he yelled, and he turned away and stalked toward a nearby table, fiddling with a Wind crystal.

Everyone looked appalled by what Linden had said. They were as good as the original Storm Hawks squadron! Why would he think that? Then Thirrin walked over to her dad's side, and slowly and gently took the crystal from his hand, putting her other hand on his shoulder. He sighed.

"Is this about Mom?" she whispered, and Aerrow glanced at her than towards Piper. Her eyes were looking down at the floor, but he could see sadness in her eyes. What exactly happened to Thirrin's mom anyway?

"What really happened that day 7 years ago?" asked Thirrin quietly, but her voice was stern. Linden hesitated, then looked up at Thirrin, his eyes brimming with tears. Thirrin was anxious; she had never seen her dad cry before. Was it that bad?

"I'm so sorry, Thirrin," he whispered. "I'm sorry I never told you what happened, that you've been in the dark all this time. But please, try to understand, I was trying to protect you! I knew, if I told you, you would try and avenge her.

"You remember the day after your 7th birthday, the day when I left for a big mission?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Thirrin. "And I remember when Mom had to come after you and save your butt…again," she added with a small smile, and Linden gave a watery chuckle.

_"Mama?" said Thirrin softly, running outside in the early hours of the morning. She could the faint outline of her mother standing near her Air Bullet Elite, one of the fastest flyers ever created on Atmos. _

"_Thirrin?" replied Michaela in surprise. "What are you doing up, sweetie?"_

"_Where are you going, Mama?" asked Thirrin._

"_I'm going to get Daddy, honey," said Michaela sweetly, but her eyes were sad._

"_What's wrong, Mama?" asked Thirrin suddenly, and Michaela sighed. Thirrin always had a knack for telling when something was wrong, or out of place. "Is Daddy alright?"_

"_He is right now, but he won't be when I get a hold of him," growled Michaela, and Thirrin giggled._

"_Daddy's in trouble with Mama," muttered Thirrin, amused. _

"_Yes, he is," agreed Michaela, and she knelt beside Thirrin and hugged her tight. "You be good for Grandma, okay? I'll be back soon with Daddy."_

"_Promise?" asked Thirrin quietly, looking at her mother with big blue eyes._

"_I promise," whispered Michaela, and Thirrin grinned and kissed her mother on the cheek. Then she skipped back into the house. Michaela watched her go with an ache in her heart. When Thirrin reached her room, she waved from her window, and Michaela returned the wave only half-heartedly, thought tears were brimming in her eyes as she got on her Air Bullet Elite._

_She hated lying to Thirrin._

"Your mother and I were the few survivors left after the Dark Ace betrayed us near Cyclonia. We heard that the Dark Ace was looking for us, and we couldn't have him coming anywhere near our homes and our families. We decided to meet him head-on. We attacked him on Atmosia, but he was too strong. He must have been training for that moment when he faced us. Your mother decided to stay home with you and your brother and sister. But when she heard that the Dark Ace was literally destroying us…well, she wasn't going to let him get away with it. You're a lot like her, actually," he added, smiling at Thirrin. "You've always been a determined, stubborn little thing. And you never give up on anything."

"Of course," Thirrin said, a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes.

"I was locked in a battle with the Dark Ace when your mother showed up. She charged straight at the Dark Ace, knocking him out of his flyer. You could see the shock, the anger…and the surprise on his face, and your mother enjoyed that. We thought we had won…but we wrong. We were flying back towards Terra Atmosia, talking, when your mother suddenly fell silent. I looked over at her, and…she had the Dark Ace's sword stuck through her chest," he whispered, and the tears in his eyes threatened to spill over. Thirrin's face, however, was oddly blank, and Aerrow wondered whether she was going into shock or something.

"He did kill her," she muttered. "Somehow…I always knew."

"Thirrin…I'm sorry," said Finn, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Don't be," muttered Thirrin, her face suddenly alive with blazing determination. " 'Cause there's someone else out there that's gonna be sorry!"

"Thirrin, NO!" yelled Linden, and he grabbed his daughter's arm and forced her to look at him. "This is exactly why I didn't want you know about this! I knew you would want revenge, even though the twins would never think of facing the Dark Ace head on! And it's just because you're like your mother! It's because you were always the one closest to her, and I knew this would happen!"

"If you're too cowardly to face him yourself," she whispered maliciously, her voice getting louder with each word, "then I'll go ALONE!" screamed Thirrin back, and Linden dropped her arm is he had been burned. Thirrin backed away from him slowly, then sprinted up to her room. Linden sighed.

"I'll go talk to her," said Aerrow, and he slowly walked up the stairs, straining his ears to her crying, or yelling, or something that would clue him in to where Thirrin was.

"Thirrin?" he called out. No response. "Thirrin, it's me, Aerrow. I just wanna talk."

"There's nothing to talk about!" yelled a voice from inside the room at the end of the hall. Aerrow smirked, and walked to the door and opened it slowly.

"Go away!" screamed Thirrin.

"No," replied Aerrow softly, and he walked inside the room and leaned against the wall, staring at her. Her face was tear-stained, her eyes were red and puffy, and there were several broken things on the floor, probably due to her chucking them across the room.

"Excuse me?" she whispered.

"You need to talk to someone, and I'm not leaving 'till you talk," said Aerrow. Thirrin just glared at him, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily.

As she calmed down, Aerrow's eyes scanned the room. Her room was painted a faded cream color, with a bed in the corner and a simple nightstand next to it with a lamp on top of it. The other side of her room was taken up by shelf after shelf of records and a stereo system that took up half the wall.

"Nice collection," said Aerrow, trying to lighten up the mood. Thirrin followed his gaze…and chuckled.

"I have an obsession with all kinds of music," she muttered. "My sister says it's unhealthy," she added, and they both sniggered.

"Music, unhealthy?"

"Well, my sister is weird anyway, so who cares what she says," she said lightly, and they both laughed again.

"You know, you're surprisingly easy to talk to," she said suddenly, and Aerrow's eyes locked with hers.

"Um…thanks," said Aerrow uncomfortably.

"Sorry to be so blunt about it," she said quickly, then sighed and turned away. "It's just…nobody's been easy to talk to since…well, since my mom died."

"I know how you feel," muttered Aerrow.

"But you need to understand something," said Thirrin, turning back to look at him. Her blue eyes looked like shards of ice. "The Dark Ace has hurt too many people, including me, and I won't just sit around and let him get away with it."

Aerrow sighed. He knew that was coming. Suddenly Thirrin's head whipped up and she froze, like a rabbit that smelled danger.

"What's wro-" began Aerrow, but Thirrin held up a hand to quiet him. She walked towards the door and out her ear to it.

"Something's wrong, I can feel it," she whispered so softly that Aerrow had to strain his ears to hear her.

After what seemed like hours, Thirrin relaxed and turned to face Aerrow.

"That was weird," said Aerrow.

"I've always had a knack for telling whether something was wrong or out of place," she replied, smiling. "Comes in handy sometimes."

Suddenly the door wrenched open, and a dark silhouette was revealed in the doorway.

"I don't think it's going to come in handy this time, girl," said the figure in a terribly familiar voice, and the figure whipped out a two handed blade and held it at Thirrin's throat, grabbing her arms and twisting them behind her, the red energy from the blades' power crystal dancing along the blade.

"Dark Ace!" yelled Aerrow in surprise and rage, and he whipped out his two blades, the blue light from his blades contrasting with the red light from the Dark Ace's blade.

"Aerrow," sneered the Dark Ace, his red eyes glowing. "I guess I should have expected you to be here. Everywhere I go, you just happen to show up."

"Like wise," replied Aerrow maliciously. "Let her go."

"Why should I?" he said softly, and the edge of his blade nicked Thirrin's neck; a single drop of blood spilled down her neck. Thirrin's eyes closed, but she didn't flinch. "She be very useful in luring old Linden out to fight."

"Very honorable," snarled Aerrow. "Using her as bait? You're more pathetic than I thought, Dark Ace."

Now the Dark Ace looked angry. His eyes narrowed into slits, and he tightened his grip on Thirrin's arms, making her hiss in pain. His mouth was a hard line, and he was breathing heavily through his nose.

"Very well," he whispered dangerously. "On your head, be it."

He dragged Thirrin thought the doorway, walking backwards through the hall. Aerrow didn't dare follow him though, for the risk of the Dark Ace killing Thirrin. Thirrin couldn't help it; she tried to scream, but the Dark Ace pressed the blade harder on her windpipe.

"You make any sound at all," he growled in her ear, " and I will kill you where you stand. And I won't hesitate to do so," he added, and Thirrin glared up at him.

As the Dark Ace walked downstairs, his blade still touching Thirrin's neck threateningly, he saw that there wasn't anybody left in the house. He snarled. As he glanced over at the window, he saw that there was a large group of people outside on the lawn; the Storm Hawks, including their filthy leader, Aerrow, and Linden himself. His mouth curved into a twisted smile.

"Perfect," he whispered with relish, and Thirrin shuddered slightly. "A big audience." As he glanced down at Thirrin, who had a look of defeat on her face, his smile grew even wider.

"Now, you needn't worry, girl," he whispered in her ear. "If you be a good little hostage, then I won't have any need to kill you. But try anything funny," he slowly let the edge of the blade slide across her neck, leaving a long but shallow cut on her throat, " and I will show everyone how dirty your blood is."

The Dark Ace stalked towards the door, kicking it open and shoving Thirrin outside.

"Linden!" yelled the Dark Ace, and everyone turned to face the twosome. Several people gasped, others screamed, but the Storm Hawks and the Ice Dragons, Thirrin's squadron, drew their weapons and glared at the Dark Ace with fierce hate. Linden just stared at the Dark Ace.

"Let Thirrin go, you jerk!" cried Linea, her crossbow pointed threateningly at the Dark Ace.

"Go ahead, shoot," said the Dark Ace, shrugging indifferently. "But you'll be killing your sister in process," he added, the twisted smile on his face again. Linea faltered, then lowered her crossbow, and the others followed reluctantly.

"Well, well, well," said the Dark Ace, and he laughed. "Now we are getting somewhere."

"I know why you're here, Ace," said Linden, and he stepped forward. "You let her go, and you'll get the fight you want."

"Really?" said the Dark Ace, cocking a curious eyebrow. "You'd give yourself over to death so easily?"

"No! Dad, you can't -" began Thirrin, but she was cut off by the Dark Ace pulling back on her hair, causing the cut on her throat to be exposed. Linden's eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Who said I was going to die?" Linden retorted, smirking slightly.

"You know I never loose," pointed out the Dark Ace, pointing the edge of his blade at Linden.

Thirrin realized that this was her chance. She pulled back her leg and dug the heel of her boot into the Dark Ace's shin. He yelped in pain, dropping his grip on her arms. She fell forward, stumbled, then ran towards her father, where he stood protectively in front of her, his blade drawn.

"Thirrin, get everyone out of here," muttered Linden so only Thirrin could hear, and she nodded and beckoned for everyone to follow. They two squadrons ran down the hill, and the Dark Ace smiled cruelly at Linden.

"This ends now, Ace," said Linden.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" yelled the Dark Ace. "My name isn't Ace anymore! You know that!"

"I don't care what you're called nowadays, Ace," said Linden, pointing his blade at the Dark Ace. "In my book, you're nothing but a low life!"

Furious, the Dark Ace charged Linden, who charged back. They clashed with a loud boom of energy, sparks flying everywhere from their sparring blades.

"You can't win against me, Linden!" yelled the Dark Ace, and he dodged past Linden's guard and struck him on the shoulder, drawing blood. "You're just going to meet the same fate as you filthy wife!"

"I beg to differ!" yelled Linden.

"Thirrin, we can't just leave Dad there!" yelled Linea as the two squadrons raced for their flyers.

"I know, stupid!" yelled Thirrin back as she jumped onto her Air Bullet Elite. "I know there are Talons on the terra, and we have to lead them off of here first! Dad can handle himself!"

The teenagers jumped onto their flyers and took off. As Thirrin looked behind her, she saw a huge group of Talons following them.

"Uh-oh…" said Junko.

"That's a lot of Talons, sis!" said Damien.

"I know, now come on!" cried Thirrin, and they sped off, circling the sky above the terra.

Thirrin spun her flyer around and sped towards two talons flying side-by-side, her arms held out in a T. With a loud smack, she knocked the two Talons off their rides, sending their flyers hurtling towards the terra. She smiled, then moved on to take out the other Talons. Suddenly, she heard a cackling behind her, and she looked back to see Ravess speeding towards her, her bow loaded and ready to fire. Thirrin drew her blades, activating them, the purple energy shooting up the blades' edges, lighting up the area around her. She jumped into the air and performed her move, the Ice Assault, sending not only Ravess flying off towards the terra below, but part of the energy blast headed towards two other Talons and knocked them out of the sky as well. The Storm Hawks watched, open mouthed, as Thirrin took out five talons in less than a minute.

"Holy crap…" whispered Finn.

"Yeah!" cried Piper, punching her fist into the air in triumph. Thirrin grinned, and sped off to take out more Talons.

"Well, well, well," muttered the Dark Ace, looking at the sky. Linden followed his gaze and watched as his youngest child took out five talons in less than a minute.

"That's my girl," he whispered to himself, smiling.

"It appears that I underestimated your daughter," said the Dark Ace. "It's too bad that she chooses to go against the Cyclonian Empire; she would make an exceptional Talon, that's for sure."

"She'd never join you," muttered Linden.

"Perhaps," said the Dark Ace. Suddenly he charged Linden so quickly he barely saw it, dodged past Linden's guard again, and stuck his blade through Linden's stomach. Linden made a choking sound, blood bubbling up and out of his mouth. He looked at the Dark Ace, his eyes bulging, before he fell to his knees and fell, face forward, into the grass. The dark Ace withdrew his blade, whipped out a rag, and wiped the blood off the metal.

"Too bad," he said. "I was expecting you would put up a better fight than this, Linden. Ah well," he added, and he kicked Linden's body aside before walking over to his flyer parked nearby.

Piper suddenly gasped, stopping her Heliscooter in midair, her eyes wide.

"Piper, what is it?" asked Linea, following her gaze, and she gasped.

Everyone looked towards Thirrin's house, even the Talons, and time seemed to stand still. Thirrin watched, as if in slow motion, as the Dark Ace buried his blade in her father's stomach. Tears spilled over and streamed down her cheeks. Anger filled the inside of her; anger, hatred…and pain beyond reason. Determination blazed on her face through the relentless flow of tears, and she stepped on the gas pedal and sped towards her house faster than anyone would have believed possible.

"THIRRIN!" cried Piper, but the wind whistling loudly in Thirrin's ears. She couldn't hear anything. Aerrow and the others watched helplessly as she sped off, perhaps, to her doom.

Thirrin watched the Dark Ace walk towards his Talon Switchblade Elite, but he wouldn't get off this terra alive; she would make sure of that. As she neared her house, she "crash" landed her flyer, jumped off, and landed in front of the Dark Ace with the lithe agility of a cat, her blades pointed at the Dark Ace. The Dark Ace stepped back in surprise, then smiled maliciously.

"Where do you think you're going, jackass?" cried Thirrin.

"Actually, I was just about to head home, but since you showed up," he began, and he snapped his fingers. Suddenly two dozen Talons appeared out of nowhere, and their weapons were pointed straight at her. She looked around wildly, looking for an escape loop, but when she saw none, she sighed and lowered her weapons in a gesture of surrender. If she was to defeat the Dark Ace, she would have to be alive to do it.

"Smart move, girl," said the Dark Ace softly, and he snapped his fingers again. Two Talons rushed forward, wrestled Thirrin's blades from her, and bound her hands together behind her back, making it as painful as possible.

"Put her on my Switchblade, then take care of her friends," said the Dark Ace, smirking, and the Talons obeyed. When the Talons took off, the Dark Ace turned to face his prisoner, his smirk growing into a wicked smile. Her head was bowed, her braid loose and the loose strands covering her face. He had to admit, she was very pretty…just like her mother.

"Oh come now, cheer up…Thirrin, is it?" he said. She glanced up at him, then turned her head away in obvious defiance. "You're lucky that I'm in the mood to take prisoners." He walked over and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Otherwise, you'd be lying next to your father over there."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she wrenched her chin out of his grip, looking at him with hatred. He pulled his hand back and struck her across the face. She fell off the Switchblade, but she made no sound.

"You've got guts, to endure that in silence," growled the Dark Ace. He picked her up by the collar and threw over the back of his ride. "Be good, or I might rethink my choice about taking you prisoner." She returned his nasty glare, but he was the one to look away first. He couldn't help but look away; the depth of those blue eyes were endless, like a immense ocean that could pull you under…no. He was getting caught up over nothing. He shook his head and jetted off the terra, hearing muffled sobs behind him.


	3. Inheritance

**Sorry this took so long! Anyway, enjoy! P.S. I edited chapter 1 & 2, so check them out!**

* * *

Chapter 3

"Aerrow, go get Thirrin!" cried Linea as she watched in horror at the oncoming horde of Talons.

"We'll take care of these losers!" added Finn, shooting several arrows at a group of Talons; for the first time, he wasn't smiling.

Aerrow nodded, and sped off towards the house just as the Dark Ace took off, speeding towards Aerrow himself.

"And now," he whispered, relish in his voice, "to take care of our little Sky Knight once and for all."

Thirrin, fearing the redhead's life, tried to think of something to do to distract the Dark Ace.

"Let her go, Dark Ace!" yelled Aerrow, and he jumped on top his Air Skimmer III Ultra, his blades drawn, ready to fight.

"Come and get it," muttered the Dark Ace, pulling out a small dagger out of his boot, readying it to throw at Aerrow. Thirrin saw this, and she gasped. The Dark Ace heard it.

"Quiet, child," he murmured. She hissed at him.

Suddenly, an idea sprang into her mind. It was so crazy…she knew it was going to work! She took a deep breath, cleared her mind of all her fear……and threw herself off the Dark Ace's Switchblade, plummeting towards the terra below.

"What the-" started the Dark Ace, but he was cut off as Aerrow sped past him, did a corkscrew in the air, and dove towards Thirrin.

"Foolish girl," he hissed, and he sped off after Aerrow, his blade drawn and shooting beams of energy at the two teenagers.

Thirrin laughed in giddy exhilaration as she felt the wind whip past her, her braid falling out and her hair whipping around her face. However, panic began to overtake that feeling. If Aerrow didn't catch her…she shivered, partly because she didn't want to think about what would happen, but also because of the cold wind that froze her face. She closed her eyes, and waited…

* * *

"When I catch her, I'm gonna kill her!" yelled the Dark Ace as he got closer and closer to Aerrow.

"Not if I catch her first, you douche bag!" cried Aerrow back.

Aerrow accelerated his Air Skimmer, speeding ahead of a snarling Dark Ace. He looped under Thirrin, and she landed with a thud in front of him. His skimmer dropped a couple feet from the force of the impact, and he wondered why Thirrin hadn't yelled out from the pain yet. He winced just seeing it.

"Thirrin?" he asked tentatively.

"Tell me when it's over!" she cried, and she buried her face in her arms.

"It is over," he said, and her head popped up.

"Oh," she said, laughing without humor. "Right…" They both laughed. Then Radarr jumped behind Thirrin and gnawed at her bindings, cutting them free.

"Thanks, Radarr," said Thirrin, rubbing her wrists and smiling at Radarr. He only replied with a purr.

"I wouldn't be laughing just yet," said a voice from behind them. Aerrow, Thirrin, and Radarr looked back to see an energy blast heading straight towards them. Aerrow jumped up and sent a blast in return, the two blasts in danger of colliding with each other. Thirrin took the chance to send the skimmer into a dive, away from the upcoming explosion. Sure enough, there was a loud bang and a flash of light, and Aerrow was thrown backwards into Thirrin, knocking the wind out of both of them. While Aerrow landed on the skimmer's seats, Thirrin flew off, once again hurtling towards Terra Aqua.

Fortunately, however, her bonds were cut.

She reached towards a small cube on the side of her belt and pressed a red button on it. The cube exploded into a board that was hovering in mid air. The board was painted in yellow, green, and purple, with a huge blue dragon painted on the bottom. Thirrin grabbed onto it, flipping over so her feet landed securely on it. She steadied herself, then "surfed" her way towards the Dark Ace, who sent another wave of red energy at her. She dodged this easily, doing a loop around his Switchblade, and grabbing her blades off the back of his ride. The Dark Ace roared in anger, and he swiped at her with his blade. She flipped into the air, did a somersault mid-air, and fell a few feet away before landing easily on her hover board, grinning all the while.

"What are you smiling at?" he snarled.

"Nothing, just that your face is funny looking when it's angry!" she replied, laughing as she soared away.

"Ice Dragons -" began Thirrin.

"Storm Hawks -" began Aerrow.

"Prepare for battle!" they said in unison, and the two squadrons cheered. The Dark Ace glared maliciously at the twosome. Thirrin only smirked, shrugging indifferently. '_Man, if looks could kill…_' she thought.

Together, the Storm Hawks and the Ice Eagles charged the Cyclonians, conflicting as never before. All around, the air was filled with the ring of blades smashing against each other, the yells of pain and anger, and the roar of engines. The light from the different striker crystals threw colors in shocking brilliancy against the clouds formed from the Dark Ace's Firebolt crystal.

"Thirrin, jump on!" yelled Piper, and Thirrin retracted her hover board and jumped on the back of Piper's Heliscooter. Together they sped back towards Thirrin's house to retrieve her Air Bullet Elite.

Suddenly, a wave of pain engulfed Thirrin, originated from her right shoulder. She grasped it, trying to ease the pain, only to find that her hand slid down her arm due to some warm liquid. She looked at her shoulder, and saw that it was bleeding profusely.

"Shit…" she whispered, and Piper looked back and gasped.

"That looks bad," she said.

"No kidding!" yelled Thirrin.

"That's just a taste of what you'll get when I'm done with you!" yelled the Dark Ace, who Thirrin realized was right on their tail! He shot her! That no good, double crossing, son of a …then a fresh wave of pain rolled over Thirrin, and this time, it was so strong, she lost her seating behind Piper and fell off the Heliscooter without Piper even noticing she was gone. The Dark Ace took this as his cue, and went into a 45 degree dive after the bleeding teenager, who was heading straight for the roof of her house.

"Hey Thirrin…" began Piper, but she trailed off as she looked behind and saw her best friend falling to the ground, bleeding profusely, while the Dark Ace was getting closer and closer to her, his hand out, ready to grab her in seconds -

"NO!" she screamed, and she pulled out a blue crystal and shoved it into her Crystal Staff, sending an energy beam at the Dark Ace's outstretched arm. The blast hit it's target, causing his arm to freeze due to the ice crawling up his arm.

"A Frost Crystal!" he roared, and he pulled up with his left hand, leaving Thirrin to free fall.

Thirrin sailed towards the roof of her house, panic overtaking her. If she hit that roof at the speed she was going…well, she didn't like to think about it.

Suddenly, a thought sprang into her mind. She took one of her blades and shot an energy blast at the roof. The blast went straight through the roof, creating a huge hole. Thirrin flew through the hole, giving her enough time to regain her footing and land as easily as she could on the top floor of her house. Glancing around, she saw that she was in the upstairs bathroom. Her wounded arm was throbbing painfully and she was dripping blood all over the floor. She groaned.

"This is not what I wanted to do today," she muttered, and went over to the linen closet, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her shoulder and torso to hold it in place. "Stupid Dark Ace, stupid Talons. This day just sucks now… "

Suddenly a huge crash echoed through the house and a blast of wind hit Thirrin like a bag of bricks, knocking her backwards into the wall. She hit it hard and slid down, lying stunned on the floor. As she looked up, she saw that the door to her father's bedroom had been blown off it's hinges, and that a huge hole was in the ceiling of the bedroom. Things lay scattered all over the floor, furniture was torn apart, and some of the wood from the furniture was slightly ablaze. But worst of all, the chest that belonged to her deceased mother was cut in two and half of it was on fire.

Thirrin rushed over, stumbling slightly and still dazed, to try and save some of the things inside when she noticed a oddly wrapped package sitting outside the chest with a not attached to it.

The note had her name on it, in her mother's handwriting.

Curious, she leaned down and picked it up, turning it over and over again in her hands. It was large and very heavy; it felt like a book. She tore off the note and undid the strings around the package. The paper wrappings fell apart, revealing a small crystal with a string wrapped around the top and a thick volume, it's pages yellowed by time and it's binding covered in stains. The crystal looked like her own crystal, but there was something different about it. Not only was it glowing slightly, but it was the most vivid shade of blue she had ever seen. It threw many questions through her mind as she read the note. It read:

_Thirrin,_

_I know that if you are reading this, you have discovered your inheritance from me. I am so sorry that I had to leave that morning so long ago, that you think I broke my promise to you, the promise that I would come back. But I want you to know that I will always love you, no matter where I am now. The crystal is a special crystal; guard it with your life. I've marked the page in the book where you can read up about it. No one else has a copy of this book; again, guard it well. Tell Linea and Damien that I love them, and tell your father that I'm sorry for what I put him through; what I put all of them through, including you. _

_All my love,_

_Mom_

Tears sprang to her eyes and dropped onto the note, blotching the writing on it. She remembered the promise, but she didn't think that her mother broke it. She always thought that her mother was with her, in spirit.

She raced to her room, grabbed her pack and stuffed that book and the crystal inside it, as well as some of her records. Then she raced out her door and down the stairs, not stopping to look back. Only then, when she reached the front lawn, did she see her father's body on the grass and remembered what had happened to him. She rushed over to him and flung herself beside him. She grabbed his hand and pressed her first two fingers against the inside of his wrist, searching frantically for a pulse. She gasped.

There was a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

"Dad?" she whispered. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard him groan softly in response.

"Thirrin…" he choked out, his mouth dripping blood.

"I'm here, Dad," she replied softly, the tears welling up in her eyes again. "I'm here."

"There's something I need to give you," he whispered in a strangled voice. "It's a paper package in your mother's chest. Your mother told me to give it to you when you were ready, just before she died."

"I know, Dad," Thirrin said softly. "I found it already. Mom wrote a note to me. She wanted you to know that she loves you and she sorry for what she put us through."

"You found it?" he asked, and he coughed, spurting blood. Thirrin's heart caught at the sight. "You're too damn observant for your own good. You know that, right?" Thirrin gave a watery chuckle. Linden smiled, and raised his hand and brushed some of the tears off of Thirrin's cheeks.

"I've always loved your laugh," he said softly, his voice fading. "I'm glad I got to hear it, one last time…" he trailed off, looking at something past Thirrin.

"Dad?" said Thirrin, her voice rising in panic. She couldn't loose her father, the one person who had taught and gave her so much. Her father gave a small sigh.

Suddenly he started jerking violently. Tears streamed down Thirrin's cheeks as she tried to steady her father's rocking body.

"Thirrin?!" he said hoarsely, his eyes dimming. "There's something…else…you need…to know…Your mother…the book…another letter…inside the book."

"Inside the book. Got it," she repeated, letting him know she heard him, and she gave a small smile, even though the tears made it hard to see.

"I love you. All four of you," he whispered. Then he gave a great staggering breath, and moved no more.

"Wait!" Thirrin cried. "What do you mean, 'all four of you?' Dad!" she screamed, but her father didn't answer. She fell over his body and started sobbing; she couldn't help it. She had lost a parent before; she had already lost a piece of heart, but this was different. It was like her heart was gone.

She lifted her head, wiping the tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand, then placed her fingers on her father's eyelids, closing them forever. She stifled a sob that threatened to spill over.

She looked over and saw her skimmer still parked on the lawn. She felt the urge to go over to it, jump on, and fly off to help her friends, but she didn't move. She couldn't move. It was like someone had locked her joints securely so she couldn't move.

She felt something fall on her shoulder, and what felt like claws dig into it. She winced, but ever so slightly. She knew who it was. She glanced up to see Frear shuffling her feathers on Thirrin's shoulder.

"Hey," she said, taking a finger and stroking Frear's feathers. Frear looked down at Linden and cawed softly. The sound was solemn and grave. "I know. I'm gonna miss him too."

She slowly got up and walked back inside the house, back up to her father's room and her mother's trunk. When she reached it, she noticed two other paper-wrapped packages on the floor, but they were considerably smaller than hers. In fact, they were the same size as that little blue crystal she found. She picked them up and saw notes tied to them as well, written in her mother's handwriting. But these parcels were labeled for Linea and Damien. She grabbed them and stuck them inside her pack, then rushed back out of the house, Frear fluttering off and flying over Thirrin's head. She jumped onto her skimmer, took on more pained glance at her deceased father, then revved the engine of her skimmer and took off.

* * *

Aerrow watched as the Dark Ace turned his skimmer around, _again_, to fight him, and he groaned.

"Geez, this guy is persistent," he muttered, sighed, then readied himself for another round of attacks from the Dark Ace.

"Tired yet, you little runt?" sneered the Dark Ace. Aerrow only smirked back.

"Not for a second," he yelled back, and the Dark Ace's smirk was replaced a glare. They clashed again, the sound of metal hammering against each other ringing in their ears.

Suddenly, a huge energy blast came out of nowhere and hit the back of the Dark Ace's skimmer, knocking out it's engines. The skimmer dropped, and the Dark Ace jumped out of it and activated his glider, roaring in anger. Aerrow looked to see who it was that fired, and whooped when he saw that it was Thirrin, who was speeding towards him.

"Bull's-eye!" she yelled, punching a fist into the air in triumph.

"Nice shot!" said Aerrow when Thirrin got close.

"I know, right?" she replied, and they both laughed. They didn't notice that the Dark Ace had landed on one of the passing Talon's skimmers and thrown him off, allowing him full control.

"Little pest," he muttered fiercely, and he pulled up and flew straight for Thirrin.

* * *

Thirrin suddenly grew very still, then she pulled her skimmer out of the way, as fast as lightning, just as the Dark Ace flew vertically up through the area where her skimmer had been moments before.

"Damnit!" he yelled, and turned around flew straight for Thirrin again. "Girl, you are just like you're father; a thorn in my side for too long!"

"Guess it runs in the family!" yelled Thirrin, grinning, and the Dark Ace looked furious. Then Thirrin whistled, and Linea, Damien, the Ice Dragons and the Storm Hawks appeared, their weapons all pointed at the Dark Ace. He ground his teeth angrily. He was pissed now. Then he saw the Storm Hawks condor appear from behind the clouds. Stork waved at the Dark Ace from behind the steering wheel inside the condor. Thirrin laughed without humor.

"Again, guess it runs in the family," she repeated, nodding towards her brother and sister.

"Next time I see you, brat, it will be the last time you see daylight again," growled the Dark Ace, and he flew off into the west, the Talons close behind.

The two squadrons and the terra below them cheered at their victory. But Thirrin paid no attention to them. She flew towards the Condor, and the Storm Hawks, Linea, and Damien followed, while the rest of the Ice Dragons landed on the Terra to congratulate them.

"Thirrin, what is it?" asked Piper when the landed in the condor's hanger.

"This," she said curtly, and she took out the note from her mother and handed it to her best friend. Piper took a minute to read it, then looked up at Thirrin, understanding and sadness in her eyes.

"Thirrin…" she began, unable to say anything else.

"She also left me, Linea, and Damien stuff," interrupted Thirrin, and she threw Linea and Damien their parcels. "The notes are the same as mine, except for the part about her promise to me," added Thirrin, shrugging.

Linea and Damien undid the strings and the paper revealed two other crystals, just as Thirrin predicted. But instead of them being blue like Thirrin's, Linea's crystal was intense red, while Damien's was a vibrant green. Both were glowing slightly.

"Ok…what's with the crystals?" asked a puzzled Finn, and they all looked at Thirrin.

"The note says to look in the book my mom gave me along with my crystal," replied Thirrin, and she pulled out her blue crystal and the old book.

"Can I see it?" asked Piper, and Thirrin handed her the book.

"My mom marked a page in it. Check there to see if there's anything about these crystals in it," explained Thirrin, and Piper obeyed.

The book spewed dust as Piper opened it, making her cough for a few seconds. She turned to the marked page and started reading. Then she gasped and dropped the book.

"Piper?!" asked a startled Linea, and she bent down to pick up the book.

"No way…there's no way…that's impossible…" Piper kept saying, shaking her head, her eyes wide. Linea opened the book back up to the marked page, setting it down on a table nearby so everyone could see it.

The page held a lot of writing and several full color pictures. One of the pictures showed a man using a white crystal to defeat a huge dragon, water and fire spurting from his fingers. The picture next to it showed a close up of the same white crystal. The crystal on the bottom of the page showed a set of four crystals. Thirrin gasped when she recognized three of the crystals.

They were the same crystals that her mother had given her and her siblings!

"What does the page say?" asked an impatient Aerrow.

"It says," said Piper in a shaky voice, " that the crystals you three hold," referring to Thirrin, Linea, and Damien, "are three of the four crystals needed to create the Elemental crystal."

"The Elemental Crystal?" asked a skeptical Aerrow. "Isn't that a legend, a myth even?"

"That's what I thought too, until I saw that page and your three crystals," replied Piper.

"What is this thing anyway?" asked Junko.

"The Elemental Crystal," began Thirrin, " is a crystal of mythological powers. It gives the bearer power over all four elements; air, water, earth, and fire. Nobody has seen it in almost 1,000 years. It is said that it created Atmos, and also shattered it into the many terras that are here today. The Elemental Crystal is also more powerful than the Aurora Stone could ever be."

"Seriously?" gasped Finn, gaping.

"Seriously."

* * *

**The songs I used for this chapter was "Stronger" by Kanye West and "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion**


	4. Understanding

**Sorry for the long wait, guys! I had some major writer's block and I haven't had time to work on this. Anyway, here's chapter 4! Chapter 5 is coming soon!**

* * *

Chapter 4

"This is bad," said Piper.

"How is this bad?" asked Aerrow. "We have the crystals we need to create the most powerful crystal ever! This is awesome!"

"Ok, first of all, we have only _three_ of the four crystals we need to create the Elemental Crystal," corrected Thirrin. "We still need the fourth one. And two, if Cyclonia ever found out about the Elemental Crystal and that it actually exists, don't think they might be just a bit tempted to come and find it?" added Thirrin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Aerrow glared at her, and she glared back.

"Which crystals do we have right now?" asked Damien, apparently trying to break the tension in the room.

"According to the book, we have the Water, Earth, and Fire Crystals," replied Linea, looking at the book intently. "We need to find the Air Crystal."

"Then it should be on Terra Sky," said Piper.

"Why would it be there?" asked Finn.

"Because another part of the legend states that the four crystal needed to create the Elemental Crystal originated from the piece of land that are the four terras below us; Terra Aqua, Terra Pyro, Terra Sky, and Terra Mire," explained Piper. "I'm pretty sure Thirrin's mom found those three crystals on Terra Mire, Terra Pyro, and Terra Aqua. So that means the only place left would be Terra Sky. _Duh_," she added, and Finn scowled at her.

"But that's only part of the legend," said Aerrow. "The crystal really could be anywhere on Atmos!"

"Wait," said Linea, and everyone fell silent to listen. "It says here that the Air Crystal can be found by it's three sister crystals. Well, that makes finding this thing a lot easier," added Linea happily. Everyone sighed in relief.

"You're telling me," said Finn.

"Yeah, but there's just one problem," began Thirrin. "Terra Sky is very protective of their terra. They rarely let outsiders onto their land. And those four towers you saw," she added, looking at the Storm Hawks, "conceal huge blaster cannons. If we went in for an air assault, we would only be shot out of the sky. Also the land is very treacherous. It's almost impossible to get on that terra."

"We're the Storm Hawks," said Aerrow confidently. "We do this kind of thing all the time."

"Hang on," said Damien softly. "I just remembered that I have an old friend of mine from school who lives on Terra Sky. Maybe she can help us out."

"You're just now telling us this?!" asked a aggravated Thirrin, throwing her hands up in the air.

"_She_?" asked Linea skeptically, smiling.

"Don't start, Linea," muttered Damien, and Linea smiled wider.

"Well, contact your friend, Damien, while I'll think up a plan," said Piper happily, and she skipped off. Finn groaned.

"Great. Another plan that is way too complicated," he muttered, and he sighed.

Thirrin walked over to the book and looked at the page, staring at the picture of the man and the dragon. '_Is that what you can do with the crystal_?' she thought. '_That would be amazing! And best of all, we would actually be able to defeat Cyclonia with it too_.' As she was looking at the page, she noticed that there was a tear line on the next page. She turned the page, only to realize that someone had torn the next page in half!

"Aw man," she whispered.

"What?" asked Linea, alarmed.

"Someone tore out the next page," she whispered. "Now we can finish reading about the crystal."

"Damnit!" cried Linea. "Who would do that?"

"Maybe Mom did it," said Thirrin quietly. "Maybe what was on the bottom part of that page was something she never wanted us to know. I wouldn't put it past Mom to do something like that, trying to protect us and all."

"Well, that's obvious," said Linea, and Thirrin rolled her eyes and glared at her.

"Well, I'm going back to my room and try and think of a better plan than Piper's. We don't need another one of her crazy plans," announced Finn, and he started walking towards the door to the inside of the condor.

"Don't give yourself a brain hemorrhage," muttered Thirrin, and Linea started giggling.

"You know -" started Finn, turning on his heel to face Thirrin, but then he stopped. He looked thoughtful, then said, " What's a brain hemorrhage, anyway?"

Thirrin put a hand over eyes, shaking her head sadly, while Linea giggled even harder.

"Never mind," muttered Thirrin, and Finn shrugged and walked through the door.

"I think we need to go back to the terra while Damien takes care of…whatever he's doing," said Linea, and Thirrin nodded.

"I'll come with you guys," said Aerrow, but Thirrin shook her head.

"No, you stay here," she said. "Piper will probably need your help with her brilliant plan. And besides, Linea and I have some family business to attend to," she added, and Aerrow nodded uncertainly

"Ok," he said, "but let us know if you need anything."

"Thanks," said Thirrin as she mounted her skimmer. "We will."

She and her sister revved their engines and took off, their skimmers heading for their now destroyed house in the middle of the terra. Aerrow watched them go, and then realized that the family business that had to attend to was probably their dead father. Aerrow suddenly felt sorry for Thirrin and her brother and sister. Not only did they lose both of their parents, but they lost their home too. Aerrow sighed, then walked to the door that led to the inside of the Condor, Radarr perched on his shoulder.

* * *

Thirrin and Linea landed on their front lawn, and saw a group of people in a circle, looking at something. Thirrin sighed. They were mourning her father. Despite the group crowding his body like vultures, she knew they had every right to mourn him. He was a great dad; he was even like a father to the other children in her town. She dismounted her Air Bullet Elite, Linea dismounting her skimmer, and they walked over to the crowd. They made a space for them so they could walk through to their father's body. Tears spilled down Linea's cheeks, like everyone else around her, but Thirrin remained expressionless, her mouth a hard line. 

"I'm so sorry, Thirrin," said Esteé, one of her squadron members and her good friend.

"Thanks, Esteé," replied Thirrin, still impassive as stone.

"You okay?" asked Esteé, watching her friend with a troubled expression.

"I'm fine," said Thirrin through unmoving lips. Then she walked back through the crowd and into the house. Esteé watched her go.

"Is she okay?" she asked Linea, and Linea sighed.

"She was close to my father, so this is hardest for her," whispered Linea, and Esteé nodded. "I'll go talk to her," and she followed Thirrin's path through the crowd and into the house.

* * *

The Dark Ace cautiously stepped into the room. He knew that Master Cyclonis would be extremely angry that the mission had failed. Hopefully, she would be in a good mood. He saw her standing in front of a table full of maps, looking over them intently. 

"Master Cyclonis," he said, bowing.

"You failed," whispered Master Cyclonis, and the Dark Ace winced.

"Forgive me, Your Highness," said The Dark Ace, bowing his head. "It won't happen again."

"No, it won't," said Master Cyclonis softly. "However, things worked out to our advantage."

"Really?" asked the Dark Ace. Master Cyclonis looked up at him and smiled wickedly.

"Oh yes," she said. "You have no idea what has been unleashed on that terra."

"Then enlighten me please," said the Dark Ace. She laughed softly.

"You fought a young girl on Terra Aqua, am I correct?" asked Master Cyclonis, and the Dark Ace nodded. "Well, she found something quite interesting. Have you ever heard of the Elemental Crystal?" she asked suddenly.

"Only once," said the Dark Ace, shrugging indifferently. "I thought it was just a myth."

"It was," said Master Cyclonis, "until the girl found three out of the four crystals need to create it."

"Create it?" asked the Dark Ace.

"The Elemental Crystal is not just some crystal you fool around with!" cried Master Cyclonis. "It is a crystal a hundred times more powerful than the Aurora Stone! And that, Dark Ace, is exactly why you have to create the crystal first. The man who mined the crystal destroyed it, thinking that in doing so he would protect Atmos. When the fool destroyed it, he split it into four crystals and hid them all over Atmos. However, he didn't realize that he hid them on four terras, all of them right next to each other! Now, the girl also knows about the Elemental Crystal, and they're looking the fourth crystal. It's hidden on Terra Sky. You will retrieve it," she added, and the Dark Ace bowed. "I don't care how many legions of Talons you need. You _will_ retrieve the fourth crystal _and_ it's sister crystals from the girl and her siblings. Is that clear?" she asked him, her voice dangerously soft.

"Crystal," he said, smiling. He bowed again, then took his leave. Master Cyclonis watched him go, then walked to a large crystal sitting on top of a ornately carved pedestal. It was cloudy on the inside, and what looked like smoke billowed around on the inside of it.

Master Cyclonis placed her hand over the crystal, and the clouds cleared. In it's place showed a moving picture of Thirrin and Linea standing in the ruined bedroom of Thirrin's father, looking through an old trunk. Master Cyclonis smiled.

"Soon," she whispered, "I will have what is rightfully mine. And no one," she added, and sent a powerful energy blast at a nearby pillar, crumbling it into dust to prove her power, " shall stand in my way after a retrieve it, not even the Storm Hawks."

* * *

"Form ranks!" yelled the Dark Ace, striding towards a group of Talons. They stopped whatever they were doing and formed lines. "We have another mission! We are to return to the quadrant in which Terra Sky is located. We are to retrieve a certain group of crystals for Master Cyclonis from the Storm Hawks." He then turned to a nearby Talon. "I want you to find as many Talons as you can to join me on this mission. Is that clear?" 

"Yes, sir!" he said, saluting, then running off.

"Soon, Thirrin," muttered the Dark Ace, putting a hand under his own chin, looking determined and thoughtful, " we will meet again. And this time, no mercy," he added, and he strode off towards his skimmer.

* * *

"Thirrin?" called Linea. "Are you up here?" 

"I'm here," said Thirrin in an blank voice. It came from Linden's ruined bedroom. Linea walked towards the doorway and saw her little sister kneeling on the floor beside the bed, looking at a photo album.

"Hey," said Linea softly, smiling. Thirrin didn't return it.

"I remember when we took this," whispered Thirrin, putting a hand on the picture in the album page. She raised the book and turned it around to show her sister. "It was after your birthday party."

"I remember," said Linea as her eyes traced over the familiar picture. It was a picture of herself, her sister, her brother, and her mom. They were doing a 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, Evil' picture. She was 'See no evil,' Damien was 'Hear no evil,' and her mom was 'Speak no evil.' Of course, Thirrin was 'Evil,' sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes. Linea laughed; she always laughed when she saw the picture.

"You miss her," said Linea, and Thirrin sighed.

"I don't just miss _her_," began Thirrin, "I miss _life_; well, life before Mom died. Grandma was still living here, and we were all happy and laughing all the time. It was, _enjoyable_. And then Mom-" she stopped, not wanting to say the word, "well, you know-" she added, and Linea nodded, "and everything changed. It's like it's a whole different world, and now it's only gotten worse!"

"We're going to make it through this, hon," said Linea softly. Thirrin looked up at her, her eyes glistening.

"What am I supposed to do? Not only have I lost Mom and Dad, but now, the Dark Ace is after me too! What am I supposed to do?!" she repeated, her voice rising an octave in hysteria. "He'll stop at nothing until her eliminates us, Linea! I could see it in his eyes! I won't put you two in danger because of me! I'm not going to let you get killed because of me!"

"We're going to be fine, Thirrin," reassured Linea in a confident voice, though she didn't feel all that reassured herself.

"How do you know for sure?" asked Thirrin acidly, and Linea fell silent. "Exactly my point. I need to stay away from Terra Aqua for a little while, to protect you all from the Dark Ace. At least, long enough until things cool down."

"You're not going anywhere alone!" cried Linea fiercely. Thirrin rolled her eyes.

"Listen to you, you sound like Mom!" said Thirrin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Linea glowered at her.

"Piper and her squadron already have enough trouble on there hands as it is," muttered Linea.

"Are you inferring that I'm _trouble_?" defended Thirrin, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes as her older sister. "Piper is my best friend, and she would never think of me as trouble. I'm offended that my own sister would call me trouble, the same sister whom I helped to train in Sky Fu! The same sister whom I gave lots of favors too!"

"I never said th-" began Linea, but Thirrin cut her off.

"You just did say that I was trouble, so don't deny it!" yelled Thirrin. "Well, fine! If you don't want me around, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! I don't need you! I don't need anybody!" she finished, her voice rising to a scream. She snatched back the photo album back from Linea and pushed past her, her breathing heavy.

"Thirrin, wait!" cried Linea, but her sister didn't look back. She groaned in frustration and kicked the leg of the bed. "She's so infuriating sometimes…it's like she was born to make me mad!" she muttered, and she flopped down on the bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it.

Down the hall, Thirrin had also grabbed a pillow and started screaming into it. Her sister was so infuriating! Her sister just didn't understand her at all! Everyone thought she was weak because she was young and was a girl, but she wasn't even close to being weak! She'll just have to prove that she's strong, then everyone will know she means business!

She threw the pillow onto the floor in frustration and curled up into a ball, resting her head on her knees, tears of frustration spilling over. Suddenly she heard a thump. She looked over and saw the photo album laying open on the floor. It was open to a large picture of her and her mother, laughing and smiling at the camera. Thirrin hated seeing that picture now. It reminded her of what life was like before, and she hated thinking about that.

Then again, now that she thought about her mom, she felt guilty for yelling at her sister. Her mom wouldn't have wanted her and her sister to fight.

"Stupid guilt trip…" she muttered.

Suddenly she heard her radio nearby emit a voice.

"Thirrin?"

It was Damien. Thirrin sighed and grabbed the radio.

"What is it Damien?" she asked.

"I've contacted Carina -" he began, but Thirrin cut him off.

"_Carina_? You contacted Carina?" she choked back, trying not to laugh. "I thought you two weren't in contact with each other anymore after you two broke up."

"Shut up," muttered Damien, and Thirrin giggled. "Anyway, she said she'll meet us at the border between the two terras. But she wanted to warn us. Her people might not be happy to see us, so she wants to be in full armor and have our weapons with us."

"No problem," said Thirrin, happier now with the good news. "I'll meet you on the _Condor_."

"See ya soon."

The radio went silent, and Thirrin grabbed the photo album, stuffed it under her arm, and ran out of her room, looking for her sister. She found her outside, talking to Esteé and her other squadron member, Yelsha.

"Linea!" she cried. Linea looked up, panic in her eyes, afraid that something bad happened.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's time for the mission," Thirrin said seriously. Linea relaxed slightly.

"What mission?" asked Esteé, curious.

"We have a mission with the Strom Hawks on Terra Sky," explained Thirrin. "I'll explain the rest later."

"Let's go!" said Yelsha. Thirrin smiled grimly, and she ran to her skimmer while the others ran to theirs in the village.

* * *

"Do we have a plan?" asked Thirrin later on the _Condor_. 

"Pretty much," said Aerrow, looking at Piper.

"Here's the plan," she began. "We'll meet up with Carina," she glanced at Damien, smiling; Damien scowled at her, "and we'll head towards the center of Terra Sky, where I'm pretty sure is where the main city is. If Terra Sky knows where the Air Crystal is, it should be in the temple."

"Temple?" asked Finn.

"Terra Sky has a polytheistic belief system," said Damien. "They have several goddesses, and the temple is where all their shrines are located. The temple is huge."

"The people of Terra Sky probably believe that the Air Crystal is sacred and belongs to the Goddess of the Wind," continued Piper. "Therefore, it would be in her shrine. And I know what you're thinking Finn," she added, glancing at Finn's open mouth as he tried to speak. "Terra Sky also believes that women are just as strong as men, if not more. That's why there are only goddesses.

"Anyway, we'll sneak in, grab the crystal, and get out as fast as possible before that tyrant catches us."

"What tyrant?" asked Aerrow.

"Terra Sky has been under the rule of a family of dictators ever since their last king, King Akeno, died almost 500 years ago," said Piper. "The leader right now is almost as evil as Master Cyclonis, but he's not on her side. Yet," she added.

Suddenly something beeped. Damien, turned away, grabbing a small electronic device from his belt. He glanced at it, then tucked it away again.

"Carina is ready for us," he said.

"Okay. Stork, Yelsha, you stay here and look after the _Condor_. The rest of us will go with Carina," said Piper as the others ran off towards the hanger.

They took off a few minutes later, the two large squadrons joining together to form one large squadron.

"So Thirrin," muttered Aerrow, pulling his skimmer closer to Thirrin's so he could keep his voice down, "what's up with Damien and Carina?"

"Oh, that," she said simply, glancing at him, chuckling slightly. "Damien and Carina started dating when they were about 13. I thought it was going well; of course, I was 11 years old, so how did I know?" she added, and Aerrow laughed quietly.

"Anyway, well, they dated for about 3 years; they actually only broke up about 3 months ago. When I started the Ice Dragons, she didn't want Damien to be involved with the violence that we have to experience with Cyclonians. Carina's parents were kidnapped and forced to work in the factory on Terra Gale," she whispered, AND Aerrow's eyes widened in understanding. "Her grandma, Akime, takes care of her now. She was afraid she was going to lose him too. She cared about him a lot. He told her not to worry about that type of stuff, and that it was stupid to worry. Big mistake. Women always worry, and that pretty much insulted her. Well, let's just say it didn't end well."

"Ah," said Aerrow.

"It'll be interesting to see what happens when Damien and Carina see each other again," said Thirrin quietly, and she giggled, Aerrow chuckling with her.

"Let's hope they don't try and kill each other, or we'll lose our guide," said Piper, over hearing their conversation, and they all laughed.

* * *

**The song I associated with this chapter was "Starts With Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood. Of course, it only associates with like one part of the chapter, but oh well.**


	5. ANNOUNCEMENT! please read

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**Wow, a LOT of time has passed since I last updated this. I just wanted to let you all know that:**_

_**1. I'm not dead (ROFL) and**_

_**2. I'm considering rewriting this story.**_

_**I've found that I've become very serious about what I write nowadays. I wanted to ask your opinion on whether I should rewrite it. I still love Storm Hawks, and although I haven't seen it in AGES, I wish I could watch it and I haven't given up on this fan fiction. I like the whole plotline that I came up with in my head a long time ago (which I actually still remember), but I think this story could be remodeled to meet more readers appetites. I've just had a lot of other projects going on, including some original fiction works over on FictionPress that I'm very serious about working on. Please tell me your opinions on my decision, and I really want to get back into writing fan fiction.**_

_**I love you all, and forgive me for not updating for a while!**_

_**Love,**_

_**Blood Always Tells**_


	6. Terra Sky

_Wow, it's been FOREVER since i last updated. I hope everyone read that last announcement, and i want to know what you guys think. But anyways, here's chapter five, finally finished! Enjoy!_

_P.S. I do not own the Storm Hawks, but i do own any characters i created for the story._

* * *

Chapter 5

The Storm Hawks and the Ice Dragons landed on the outskirts of Terra Sky, the fog stopping them from going any farther.

"How is this called Terra Sky?" muttered Finn, shaking his head. "You can't even see the _sky_ in this place." Some of the teenagers laughed.

"Relax, Finn," said Thirrin. Frear was perched on her shoulder similarly to Radarr's position on Aerrow's; she was leaning against her skimmer, totally at ease. "Carina will be here soon."

"Sure she will," grumbled Finn, and Thirrin rolled her eyes.

After about 10 minutes, Thirrin stiffened and she turned towards something approaching through the fog. Sure enough, a dark silhouette was walking towards them, becoming more clear as it walked.

"Carina?" asked Piper hesitantly.

"You guys are slow, you know that?" said the figure as it finally stepped out of the heavy mist. It was female, tall and slight, with long auburn hair pulled into a braided bun on top of her head and deep emerald eyes. She was stunning, but mouth was puckered in distaste as she glanced at Damien, her eyes narrowed. '_Man, no wonder Damien went out with her_,' thought Aerrow.

"Nice to see you too, Carina," said Thirrin, amused at the expression on Carina's face. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost, but, you'll need these," she said, and she reached into her pack and pulled out a box and tossed it at Thirrin. Suspicious, she slowly opened the box and found eight little blocks inside.

"What the hell…" said Thirrin as she pulled one out.

"Oops, almost forgot," said Carina, and she pulled out what looked like a really supped up remote and pressed a button. At that moment, the little blocks turned into eight pairs of heavy duty boots with wheels on them.

"Whoa," said Aerrow, and he picked up a pair and inspected it. "What are these things?"

"Things that will get you across the terra safely," explained Carina. "Each of you take a pair; I've already got mine. You can't take your skimmers across Terra Sky; they would get busted up for sure."

"Why?' asked Junko, pulling the biggest pair onto his feet.

"You'll see," said Carina.

"How?" asked Finn sarcastically. "With all this fog, I'm surprised you can see anything in there."

"The fog," began Carina, turning her hard glare on Finn, "is a defense mechanism. The fog is generated from a huge machine in the middle of the terra. The fog only exists on the border of the terra. As you get farther in, it's easy to see."

"Let's go, then," said Thirrin, and the two squadrons grabbed their weapons and, clumsily, followed Carina through the fog.

The fog was thick; it took them two minutes to get through it on foot. But when they did, what they saw on other side of it was surprising. The terra was a lot like the Wastelands; rocky, jagged, and dangerous; it even had some lava peaking through cracks in the ground. However, there were long, narrow paths passing all through the terra; paths small enough for people to roll through on the weird shoes one at a time.

"Geez," said Piper, looking around in awe. "I had no idea that Terra Sky was like this. How do you guys live in this?"

"There's a huge plateau in the middle of the terra, where everyone lives. It's about a quarter of a mile above all this. It's also heavily guarded, which is why we're gonna be breaking in," added Carina, grinning.

"This is gonna be fun," said Thirrin. Carina laughed and set off down one of the paths, skating with ease. Thirrin and Piper set off after her, surprisingly good at skating, and the rest of their squadrons followed them.

"This is awesome!" said Finn after he finally got the hang of it. The shoes, which Carina called roller-skates, were more fun than they imagined. The speed, the exhilaration…it was great. Thirrin even pulled off some moves, causing some of them to laugh when Piper began to grumble, "Show off."

After about a half hour of dodging some rocks, some guards, and some security devices, the group arrived at a staircase in the middle of a huge mountain. It was carved out of the rock, polished until it gleamed, and covered in a red carpet.

"Alright, here we are," said Carina, and she pulled out her weird remote and pushed a few buttons. Four ropes dropped down from the sky, or probably the plateau, and hung on the side of the rock.

"Wait until I wiggle the rope from up top, and then you guys can climb up," said Carina, and she began to climb one of the ropes with surprising agility.

"Well, I guess we wait, then," said Finn, and he heaved a sigh.

"Take a chill pill," said Linea. "Carina's faster than you think. She'll probably have the security field down in less than five minutes." Finn snorted at this. "Oh, you don't believe me? See for yourself."

Sure enough, three minutes later, the ropes wiggled, and Finn began to grumble to himself. Linea chuckled as she removed her skates, slung them over her shoulders and began to scale the side of the plateau, the others not far behind as they did the same. Junko had to go last, or he would have snapped the rope early, much to Finn's amusement and Junko's embarrassment.

As they reached the top, they heard a rather loud exclamation from Linea:

"Holy crap! This place is incredible!"

The others scurried up to get a good look. Yes, it was incredible. The entire city, as gargantuan as it was, was resting on the entire plateau. The four spires, where Piper had mentioned earlier were where the city's blaster cannons were located, reach up through the clouds. As Aerrow looked on, he realized that the four spires were connected to the temple, and the temple was huge. It took up about 75% of the plateau. The houses and business were all clustered around it in a disorganized fashion, but otherwise, the city was beautiful.

"Come on," whispered Carina, snapping them all out of their trances. "We have to meet my grandmother near the temple's back entrance." She handed everyone long black cloaks, which they took gratefully, and they threw up their hoods and began to walk through the city of Terra Sky. The city was a madhouse; everyone was out and about, shopping, doing errands, or just gossiping in the town square. The two squadrons stared, wide eyed, at everything they could get an eyesore of. However, Thirrin noticed that while the people of Terra Sky were living in rundown buildings, a large structure next to the temple was clean and built to perfection, as was the temple.

"Carina," she asked quietly, "who lives in that house?"

"Lord Bolavar," she growled. "Dirty little tyrant. His family has been in charge of our terra for almost five centuries, but they've all done a horrible job. The rest of us live on the edge of poverty while he drinks imported wine from gold chalices."

"Unbelievable," muttered Thirrin, and Carina grunted in agreement.

As they found their way through the maze of people, Thirrin caught sight of a man. But he was a bit out of place. He was wearing a black cloak, like them, but as the wind blew through, the cloak flapped, giving her a split second of view of his outfit.

A Talon battle suit.

"Guys, move!" Thirrin hissed, and Carina didn't argue. They began to walk faster.

"Thirrin, what's wrong?" asked Aerrow.

"Cyclonia is here. Or at least, one of their spies is here," she replied coldly.

"We need to move," murmured Carina, and they began to run.

They reached a large door of the temple a minute later. A woman, hunched over and dressed in a ragged gray cloak, approached them.

"Grandmamma, it's us," whispered Carina. The woman lifted her head, Thirrin was surprised to see that she didn't look very old. On the contrary, Thirrin was sure she was a beauty in her day.

"Come quickly, all of you," she urged, and Finn pulled his hood tighter around his face as they entered the temple. They all gasped as they saw the interior. The temple was spacious, covered entirely in marble, with a dome ceiling covered in intricate paintings. The walls were taken up with statues of the goddesses, altars, and more paintings and murals. It was beautiful, and cleaner than anything. But that didn't compare to what Piper saw.

"Guys, I think I see it!" she hissed. They all turned and saw Piper running towards the largest female statue. She was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen, and she was bending over what looked like a baby, touching it tenderly like a mother would her newborn child. Around her neck, however, was a smoky gray crystal.

"Guys, are you sure it's the crystal?" asked Thirrin.

"Yes, why?" asked Piper as she was about to tear the crystal off the statues neck, but she paused.

"It seems too easy to get to," explained Thirrin, thinking. She then turned to Carina's grandmother. "Is there a room where the goddess' treasure is kept? Like a vault or something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is," murmured Grandmamma, and she grabbed Thirrin's hand and pulled her along. Aerrow tagged along, as did Carina.

"Well, do what you think is right, Thirrin," began Finn, and he pushed Piper aside and tore the crystal off the statue, "'cause I'm pretty sure this is the crystal."

"Finn, NO!" screamed Piper, but it was too late. An alarm began to sound, and large portcullises fell over every entrance and every window. They were trapped.

"Crap!" yelled Finn. Cyclonians began to appear out of the ceiling, which puzzled Thirrin, unless…

"Guys, run! Lord Bolavar is in league with Cyclonia! Get out as fast as you can!" yelled Thirrin over the chaos. "Finn, give me the fake crystal! Linea, Damien, give me your crystals!"

"Why?" asked Finn as he tossed the crystal to Thirrin, which she caught and hung on her neck. Linea and Damien threw theirs as well, and Aerrow and Carina caught them.

"Because I'm going to go get the real crystal!" she screamed determinedly.

"Come with me, quickly! Before they spot the four of us!" screamed Grandmamma as she began to run, the three teenagers close behind. Thirrin heard grunts and yelps of pain as the Storm Hawks and the Ice Dragons fought off the Talons. Thirrin felt guilty for leaving them, but she knew they would have done the same.

"Here! Behind the pillar, quickly!" whispered Grandmamma urgently, and the youths ran around the large marble column and saw a huge, round door. It was locked, obviously, but it had a strange lock. It looked like four triangle in a circle, and you needed four triangles to unlock it.

Or four crystals.

"Aerrow, Carina, give me the crystals," muttered Thirrin, and the two teens handed her the crystal, slightly puzzled.

"Yes, yes, listen to Thirrin," muttered Grandmamma, and she pulled Thirrin over to the lock. "Do you know what to do?"

"I have a pretty good idea," grinned Thirrin, and Grandmamma gave her a toothy smile. Thirrin took off her water crystal and the fake air crystal, holding all four of the crystals' chains in her left hand.

"Lets see," she murmured as she placed the water crystal in an empty slot. It began to glow profusely. She placed the earth crystal in next, then the fire crystal, and finally, the faux air crystal. All the crystals began to glow, and the door began to shudder. It burst open, blasting them all with a gust of wind. An inner light was emitting from within the vault, and Thirrin saw the true air crystal sitting on a podium.

"Let's hurry," said Thirrin to the others. "I'm sure the Talons saw that." She walked forward, but she hit an invisible barrier. "Damnit! Of course there's a flipping force field!"

"Look!" exclaimed Aerrow. Thirrin glanced upward, and saw the three crystals in the lock floating above her head, spinning in a circle. Thirrin watched in wonder as the crystals came down and floated in front of them. She hesitantly reached out and touched one of them. They didn't do much, but they began to move, and Thirrin suddenly felt compelled to follow them, though she knew she would be hitting a barrier soon.

"Thirrin, what are you doing?" hissed Carina.

"Don't worry about me," she murmured. "The crystals know exactly what they're doing."

"What? What are you talking about?" she yelled, and Aerrow slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Get back to the others," Thirrin said softly, not taking her eyes off the crystals.

The crystals took her forward, and she braced for the impact of the force field. She waited, but nothing happened. With a squeak, she realized the crystals brought her safely through the field, and the crystals had left her and began to spin in a circle around the air crystal. Thirrin watched in awe as the air crystal began to shimmer. There was a blinding flash of light and a powerful gust of wind, and it knocked Thirrin over and sent her sprawling on the ground. She shielded her eyes from the light, and waited until it was over. As she hesitantly brought her arm down, she gasped.

There were no more crystals. Instead, a pure white crystal was floating above the outstretched hands of what looked like a spirit. The spirit smiled tenderly at Thirrin as she got up and brushed herself off.

"Thank you, little one," she murmured in an soft, ethereal voice.

"For what?" Thirrin asked, puzzled.

"For bringing us together again," said the spirit simply. Thirrin didn't push her for more. "Here, take us." Thirrin hesitated. "We will not harm you, little one. We swear it." Thirrin was motionless for a moment, then slowly took the crystal. As soon as she touched the Elemental Crystal, the spirit disappeared, but Thirrin could hear a voice echoing through the entire temple.

"We will always be with you, little one. If you need us, call, and we will answer."

Thirrin smiled, and hung the crystal around her neck. As she glanced as her hand, she nearly screamed as she saw a white mark on the palm of her hand in the shape of the Elemental Crystal. It must have come from the crystal, but Thirrin had barely felt it. She took a deep breath, before walking towards the entrance way. She saw Aerrow, Carina, and Grandmamma staring in open-mouthed wonder. Thirrin passed through the force field again without any trouble, and Grandmamma threw herself down at Thirrin's feet and began to pray in a strange language.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, and she pulled the old woman to her feet, but she would not look at Thirrin. "Please, ma'am, look at me."

"You have been chosen, my dear," said the old woman finally, looking up at Thirrin with tears in her eyes. "The spirits have chosen you to be our savior!"

"What?" Thirrin asked, afraid for once. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Yes, what is she talking about?"

Thirrin's head whipped up at the familiar voice. She grunted and pulled the old woman behind her as she saw the Dark Ace come into view, leaning against the marble column, a wicked grin on his face. Aerrow and Carina pulled out their weapons; Carina's weapons were a pair of energy tonfas.

"It seems we were too late for the big lights display," he shrugged, and he straightened up and pulled out his two-handed sword, "but we weren't too late to get the crystal. It seems thanks is in order for you, my dear," she said reluctantly at Thirrin. She scowled. "You helped us by creating the Elemental Crystal. Now, give me the crystal, and Master Cyclonis might be merciful on you."

Thirrin grasped the crystal in her left hand as she drew one of her swords, activating it. Her determined and angry face was alight with a purple glow, accentuating the furious lines her face and making her look even more ferocious. Aerrow and Carina attacked the Dark Ace, and a group of Talons appeared out of nowhere and began to shoot at the teens. They retreated and blocked the attacks, allowing the Dark Ace to advance on Thirrin and Grandmamma. The old woman backed into the wall as the Dark Ace's towering figure approached Thirrin, but Thirrin was motionless. Her eyes closed as the glowing scarlet two-handed sword came up above her head. The old woman screamed, and Thirrin's eyes flew open. Water appeared out of nowhere and encased Thirrin in a thick shield of iceThe Dark Ace paused, then laughed and swung the sword. The ice shattered, but Thirrin had disappeared.

The Dark Ace howled in frustration, and he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, and Thirrin's fist slugged him right in the nose. He staggered, and Thirrin grabbed Grandmamma and ran around the bleeding Dark Ace towards the others, Aerrow and Carina close behind.

"Thirrin!" screamed Piper, and she saw Piper engaged in a intense fight against Snipe. Thirrin summoned a huge ball of water, and she clenched her fists. The water turned to ice, and she spun around and launched it at Snipe. He went flying 10 yards and landed on his butt, cursing in pain. Thirrin smiled in grim satisfaction.

"You did it!" yelled Linea as she saw the white crystal around Thirrin's neck.

"Yes, now let's get out of here!" screamed Thirrin. Something smacked Thirrin in the back of the head, and she stumbled, black stars dancing in her vision. She tried to get upright, but a foot collided with he stomach and she doubled over, coughing and trying not to throw up.

"You think you're so clever, don't you, child?" hissed the Dark Ace, and she grabbed the front of her cloak and hoisted her up off the ground to face him. She sneered at him. "You have no idea of the power you wield!"

"Neither do you!" she screamed back. He threw her on the ground, and she slid several feet away. She tried to push herself up on her feet, but something dark entered her vision, shielding her from the Dark Ace. With a start, she realized it was Aerrow, and he and the Dark Ace had locked blades. Piper rushed over and pulled Thirrin away.

"You can't protect her all the time, Aerrow," sneered the Dark Ace, and he pushed Aerrow away. Aerrow staggered and readied himself for another blow.

"Thirrin doesn't need protection," growled Aerrow, and he struck against the Dark Ace. He blocked it, and they both pushed against each other, trying to gain the upper hand again. "She's twice the fighter you'll ever be!"

The Dark Ace yelled in fury, and he pushed Aerrow and landed a kick on him, sending him flying. Thirrin yelled and reached out her hand. With a gasp, Piper saw water shoot out of Thirrin's right hand and catch Aerrow before he hit the wall.

"Whoa…" muttered Finn as Thirrin lowered him near the ground. He looked at Thirrin, and she winked. He smiled, and Thirrin flicked her hand. The water went flying towards the Dark Ace, as did Aerrow. Both collided with the Dark Ace, and he yelled in pain and anger.

"Let's get out of here!" screamed Damien, and both of the squadrons, Carina, and Grandmamma began to run. Thirrin summoned some water and sliced through the portcullis in front of the door and the door itself.

"How did you learn that?" asked Finn in awe as the group of teens burst through the door and began running as fast as they could through the throngs of people, who shouted and whined in surprise and contempt.

"Run now, talk later, Finn!" yelled Thirrin over her shoulder.

"In here!" screamed Carina, and they all ducked inside a large cloth tent. Nobody was inside, and they all threw back their hoods and tried to breathe a little easier.

"Quick, put your skates back on!" whispered Carina, and they obeyed.

"We're not going to get far on these though," stated Junko sadly.

"That's what you think, Junko," said Thirrin happily. She skated towards the tent flap and took a peek, then squeaked and closed it quickly, turning around and breathing heavily. "Okay, maybe Junko's right. We're definitely not going to get far with them outside!"

"Thirrin," Piper began, and Thirrin glanced back at her. "How did you do all of that? That stuff with the water back there?" Thirrin didn't answer. "Thirrin?"

"I don't know, Piper," Thirrin replied softly.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Aerrow cried.

"I don't know!" Thirrin exclaimed. She walked right up to Aerrow, her face furious. "One minute I was trying to get us out of here, _alive_, the next I had the crystal in my hand and…I just knew what to do." She turned away. "I can't explain it, but when I touched the crystal, I just knew."

"Well, whatever it is that that crystal can do, it saved our butts back there," Finn said happily. "Did you see the Dark Ace's face when he saw what Thirrin did?" Thirrin smiled sadly.

"But we're still stuck here, unless we can get off this terra without the Talons noticing, and I'm sure the Dark Ace is out there, watching the entire terra like the vulture that he is," said Linea.

"Carina," began Piper, "can that fog machine spread the fog all over the terra, not just on the outskirts?"

"Yeah," Carina began, but then she shot Piper a suspicious look, "why?"

"Piper, you're a genius!" Thirrin exclaimed. Everyone shot Thirrin confused looks. "Carina, the fog machine makes that fog the natural way, right?"

"Of course," she replied, still confused.

"When we activate that fog machine, the fog will be all over the terra," Thirrin muttered, pacing back and forth. "The Dark Ace and his lackeys won't be able to see worth a damn. However, if the machine generates natural fog, I can use the crystal to give us visibility on the terra, which is our ticket out of here," Thirrin finished, smiling.

"There's just one problem," Damien pointed out. "We have to get to the machine first before any of this can happen."

"Yeah, and the machine is located in the tallest tower in Lord Bolavar's house," added Carina. "Just you wait - his house is heavily guarded, not to mention that the Dark Ace and his talons are probably there."

"We have to try, Carina," Thirrin replied. "I'm not going to just stand here and let that son of a bitch find me. No, if he wants to find so badly, I'll take the fight to him."

"That's it!" cried Piper.

"Good Lord, what now?" said an exasperated Finn.

"Thirrin, you and Aerrow can distract the Talons while Carina and I take care of the machine," said Piper.

"What about the rest of us?" Junko asked.

"Junko, you and Damien can come with Carina and I," Piper ordered. "Finn, you, Linea, and Esteé can help Thirrin and Aerrow."

"Alright, let's go," said Thirrin.

"Grandmamma, stay here," said Carina. "We don't want you to get in more trouble than you already are."

"Be safe, little one," the old woman replied, placing a kiss on Carina's forehead. She then turned to Thirrin. "In all my life, I would have never dreamed that I would actually see the Elemental Crystal with my own eyes. But you made that dream a reality, Thirrin." She then placed a kiss on her forehead as well. "Use it well against Cyclonia, and guard it with your life. The world as we know it will cease to exist if Cyclonis gets her hands on it."

"I will," Thirrin replied.

"Let's do this," said Aerrow.

* * *

_Hope you liked it! And as always, R'n'R!_

_Love,_

_Blood Always Tells  
_


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